R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
PSEB official held: Lakhbir Singh, Junior Engineer, PSEB, was arrested by the local Vigilance Bureau while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 800 from Mr Bhagwan Singh, a resident of Khadoor Sahib, for providing a connection, the S.P., Vigilance, Mr R.K. Sharda, said in a press note on Thursday.

BARNALA
Liquor seized: As many as 560 bottles of liquor, 475 kg of poppy husk and 35 bottles of camphor were seized by the police during the past 15 days. Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, in a press note issued here on Thursday said apart from these , 60 kg of lahan and 63 bottles of illicit liquor were also seized. He said Satnam Singh, Vinod Kumar and Gajo had been booked in different cases.

GURDASPUR
Two held: The police has arrested Jaswant Singh and Bodh Singh of Urmartanda village in Hoshiarpur district on a charge of extorting Rs 11,000 from Sukhwinder Singh, Rs 10,000 each from Tarsem Masih, Pale Masih, Jagir Masih, and Nishan Singh, all residents of Paswal village, and Jaswant Singh, a resident of Takapur village. They were arrested on the complaint of Sukhwinder Singh.

One held: The police on Friday arrested Rajinder Singh of Wazir Bhullar village in Amritsar district and recovered a stolen car from him. According to Mr Varinder Kumar, SSP, a case had been registered against him under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC in the Sadar Pathankot police station on February 16. In other case, Sher Chand, a proclaimed offender was arrested on Friday.

FARIDKOT
Gang busted: The police has busted an inter-state gang of vehicle thieves with the arrest of three miscreants. One of the gang member was nabbed by the district police, while the two were apprehended by the Uttar Pradesh police, according to Mr A.K.Araon, SSP. The arrested have been identified as Sabjeet Singh, Baljit Singh and Gurdeep Singh.

LUDHIANA
Symposium: A proper understanding of plant and animal biochemistry can help solve a majority of the agricultural problems, Dr G.S.Kalkat said at a symposium on "biochemistry, environment and agriculture" held at Punjab Agricultural University on Thursday. Dr Randhir Singh, Coordinator, Research, CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, and Dr K.S.Aulakh, Pro-Vice-Chancellor , PAU, also expressed their views.

Workshop: A workshop-cum-seminar on urology will be held here on Sunday, in collaboration with Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, according to Dr Naresh Bassi, convener of the seminar. He says nearly 100 surgeons from different parts of the state are expected to participate.

MALERKOTLA
Shawls distributed: The Parmjit Singh Azad Memorial Trust distributed shawls and cardigans among poor and needy students of Government Senior Secondary School, Lassoi, 15 km from here.

Condemned: The PSEB decision to set up its own police stations was condemned by local industrialists. At an emergency meeting in the industrial area here on Thursday, industrialists said the PSEB Chairman admitted that power theft above 220 volts could not take place without the involvement of officials. The meeting concluded with a suggestion that the PSEB should curb theft by following states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nada, where power theft is effectively detected through meters that compare supply and consumption in a particular area or locality.

Helpline: Children's helpline cells will be established in the police control rooms, according to Mr Arpit Shukla, SSP. The cells will deal child abuse cases.

Honoured: The Punjab Sahit Sabha has honoured Prof Kuldeep Singh Dheer, Dean, Academic, Punjabi University, Patiala, for his contribution to the Punjabi literature.

Elected: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Rotary Club: president — Mr R.P.S. Dhaliwal; secretary — Dr Mohammad Shabbir; senior vice- president — Mr Ravi Kant Vohra; and joint secretary — Mr Bashil Ahmed Khan.

PATHANKOT
Strike: Work in the local courts were paralysed on Wednesday on a call given by the Bar Council of India, in protest against the proposed amendment of the Cr.P.C. Mr Harish Pathania, President of the local Bar Association, in a press note stated that a copy of the memorandum was sent to the Prime Minister and the President of India.

Theft: Burglars entered the Shivala Mani Mahesh temple at the Mission Road area and took away cash and other valuables .

SAMANA
Blood donation: A blood donation camp was held at the local Public College on Friday by the NSS unit. Nearly 50 students donated the blood.

SANGRUR
Two killed: Mr Gurjeevan Singh, alias Jaggi, a local advocate, and Mr Ravi Bhushan, a clerk in the court of the Additional Sessions Judge, were killed when their car collided with a truck near Kala Jhar village , 35 km from here, on Thursday. They were coming to Sangrur from Patiala when the accident occurred. They were cremated on Friday.

Poppy seized: The Dhuri police has arrested Gurmeet Singh of Kanjla village and seized 35 kg of poppy husk from his possession, according to Mr Arpit Shukla, SSP. In another case, the police arrested Satpal Singh, a resident of Dhuri and seized 24 bottles of liquor from his possession.

CHANDIGARH

Workshop: The Centre for Industry Institute Partnership Programme of Panjab University organised a one-day workshop on Patent Awareness here on Friday. The workshop was supported by the Technology Information Forcasting Assessment Council of the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. Dr Neelam Jayrath talked about basic concepts of the intellectual property rights (IPR). The sessions were chaired by Prof Ashok Sahni, DUI; and Prof R.C. Sobti. Prof K.N. Pathak, Director of the CIIPP, welcomed the delegates. More than 150 scientists of the campus and industry participated in the workshop.

Declamation contest: Dipti Sodhi of the local MCM DAV College won the declamation contest on the concluding day of the National Productivity Week celebrations at Punjab Engineering College here on Friday. Poonam Sharma of SD College, Sector 32, and Latika of Government College for Girls, Sector 11, were second and third, respectively. An essay-writing contest on the occasion was won by Prof R.N. Nauhria. Prof Rajnish Prakash, the college Principal, presided over the function.

Protest week: The Panjab University Teachers Association will observe a protest week from Monday to press for enhancement in the number of Senate seats for elected representatives of university teachers, implementation of a viable pension scheme, increments of PhDs, besides other demands, a press note of the association said here on Friday. The protest will include dharna, black badge protest, mass procession from Gandhi Bhavan to the VC's office, mass casual leave and fasts.

Sweepers: The Sweepers Union has denied the charges that the staff of the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) had poisoned some dogs at General Hospital, Sector 16, about four months ago. In a statement issued here on Friday, the union termed the charges as a "conspiracy" to malign the staff. Since the supply of poisonous pills, intended to kill the dogs, had been stopped over four years ago, there was no question of the staff poisoning the dogs. The dogs might have died after eating some poisonous substance from the garbage bin in the hospital, the statement added.

Farewell: The Indra Social Welfare Society of Chandigarh, organised a farewell function at Buterla village of the UT. Ms Kamla Sharma, Chairperson of the Chandigarh Social Welfare Advisory (CSWA) Board was the chief guest of the day. The participants today presented various cultural programmes. Those who spoke on the occasion included Ms Rita Wahi, Assistant Project Officer of the CSWA, and Mr R.L. Kochhar, Managing Director of the society.

Workshop: The library of Panjab University will organise a five-day workshop on library automation from Monday to Friday, according to a press note issued here on Wednesday. The workshop is to be held for the benefit of librarians heading college and institutional libraries in and around the city. The workshop will focus on database creation on CDs-ISIS, CD-ROM, multimedia, Internet, e-mail, bar-code scanning and networking. The resource persons will be information technology professionals working in reputed institutions.

SAS NAGAR
CM’s assurance: The Punjab Chief Minister has given an assurance of appropriate government aid in the setting up of the local Press Club, Mr Ajit Salani, Chairman of the Mohali Working Journalists Association, said here on Thursday. He said the club had now secured registration, the second such club to obtain it in Punjab.

HARYANA

KURUKSHETRA
Theft: Thieves entered an electronic shop in front of Neelam Cinema here on Wednesday and took away 18 television sets and six CD players. Meanwhile, a television set and a CD player were found behind the shop. The police has registered a case.

SIRSA
Rapist sentenced: A man was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for raping a minor by the Additional District and Sessions Judge here. According to the police, Sukh Ram, a resident of Ravi Das Mandir street, was booked under Sections 363 and 366, IPC, for persuading a 16-year-old girl for eloping with him. Sukh Ram was also booked under Section 376, IPC, after the recovery of the girl two months later. The Judge found him guilty and punished him while Sukh Ram’s father was acquitted.

SONEPAT
Fire: Election materials worth several thousands of rupees were burnt to ashes when a fire broke out in the election office of Mr Ramesh Khatak, INLD-BJP candidate from the Baroda reserve constituency, at Gohana, 35 km from here, on Thursday. The police has registered a case.

Welcome: Mr Sukhbir Singh Farmana, an Independent candidate from the Rohat Assembly constituency, was welcomed at Kharkhauda, 19 km from here, on Thursday.